Applying a Green Card

If you want to change your citizenship and become a permanent resident of the United States of America, you have many opportunities to do it legal. There are many types of visa with different categories for getting the status of member of the American society. Moreover it, there is one best way to become a permanent resident of the country – it is a green card visa.

It is special type of long lasting visa, which can be given to you from American government. Most people who apply for green card visa do it through marriage or through family members, parents, etc.

You become eligible to get the green card if:

A family member of a United States citizen that fitting into a preference category. This way includes sons who are not married or daughters who are over 21 years old. Also, already married children of any age, and sisters and brothers of United States permanent residents age of 21 and older.

An immediate relative of a United States citizen. This way includes spouses, unmarried children under the age of 21, parents of United States citizen petitioners 21 years old and older.

A member of special category. It is complicated term which includes such positions like battered spouse or child, K-nonimmigrant, a child that was born to a foreign diplomat in the United States of America, V-nonimmigrant, widow or widower of a United States Citizen.

A family member of a green card owner. This type includes spouses and unmarried children of the sponsoring green card owner. To petition for your parents (mother or father) to live in the United States as green card holders, you must be a U.S. citizen and at least 21 years old. Green card holders may not petition to bring parents to live permanently in the United States.

A green card through marriage. That means if you are going to marry a person who already an American permanent resident or green card holder you will become a green card owner to through official signed marriage certificate and after you apply a green card via special form for getting a green card visa in status of wife or a husband of green card owner.

There are few ways of applying a green card. You need to choose what category matches your case and then pick up the form for the exact category. All the paper or electronic forms are different, with different number codes. Don’t file the personal data in it if you are not sure about the category you need to choose. There is examples for it and also, you always can ask an online help. If you have any questions it is better to ask everything you need before applying a visa of any type.

There is one more way for a green card cases. It is annual green card lottery from United States Government. The electronical system choose huge amounts of people around the world to be granted with a green card by choosing the winning numbers. Real lottery but the prize is a green card and permanent residency in the United States of America.

Every year the US Government make a lottery which is Diversity Lottery for a Green Card. United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs offers the Electronic Diversity Visa Lottery. This is Applicant Entry System which is one and the only electronic system for applying a green card as a lottery game.

There are many rules to enter the system and upload your personal data to the entry on.

You must to check if you are eligible to the lottery.

Check the list of the countries which are participate the lottery.

Each year it is different countries and American government change the number of countries who can participate. (For example, if the India joined last year and got the green cards visas with the plus 6000 entries, the government won’t let this country to participate this year once again for a positive balance of Indian people in States. That is why, before you begin to upload your personal data on the travel.state.com follow next step).

Make sure your country of residence is in the list of permitted countries for this year.

If you found out you are eligible to enter the US green card lottery competition, the next important step is uploading the photo. Here are some troubles for some people with it. There is an electronic system which can check and crop your photo for exact size for the entry upload. This is the most important part of it. Make sure you have a correct bright background and sharp picture of you, which was made less than a half year ago.

The final steps are the filling the data. Type only truly information and wait till the lottery process ends. Then, you will see the confirmation number which is highly important to print and save. When the lottery date of naming winner will come, you will need to return to the Diversity Electronic site System and enter your confirmation number to check if you win.

In case if you get the notification of your win, you will receive the next instruction via e-mail. Next steps are getting ready for the interviews, medical exams and finally getting to the United States as a green card holder.

A lot of my family members are Canadian citizens, and one of my cousins wants to move to the U.S. with her American spouse. Of course, since she’ll most likely be moving here permanently, so would like to get a green card. It was very helpful when you mentioned that she will become a green card holder after her marriage certificate is signed and her form is turned in. This information will really help my cousin out, so thank you for sharing it!